Contracts

A former McDonald’s franchisee has lost his challenge to a privilege claim by the fast food giant in his lawsuit alleging he was wrongly dropped after questioning his neighbour’s Indigenous identity in a 2019 viral video recording an altercation over an Aboriginal flag.

United Petroleum has been hit with a class action on behalf of franchisees who allege they suffered loss when the petrol giant installed loss-making Pie Face stores at its franchise sites.

Japanese bank SMBC has foreshadowed an application to add claims against Humm Group after the fintech’s subsidiary allegedly misled the bank about receivables under contracts forged by a Forum Group entity.

A judge has found Downer Energy was responsible for a costly shutdown at a NSW power plant caused by a “practically unthinkable” defect.

Optus has won more time to bring a counterclaim in a $100 million lawsuit by mobile retailer TeleChoice alleging it was misled when the telecommunications giant claimed it would earn the same revenue as in an agreement that was being negotiated with Telstra.

An appeals court has dismissed an appeal from two contractors who worked on Chevron’s Gorgon gas field project who allege they were underpaid over $130 million by the energy giant.

Mining company Downer EDI has won its bid to review documents between Alinta Energy and a superintendent who allegedly acted improperly in a spat over a $208 million solar gas hybrid project in the Pilbara region. 

A judge has thrown out a long-running class action on behalf of 20 local councils in NSW alleging insurer JLT Risk Solutions charged them hundreds of millions of dollars in excessive premiums over nine years.

Queensland government-owned water services provider Sunwater has lost a bid to overturn a judgment letting insurer Liberty Mutual Insurance off the hook for its share of a $440 million settlement in the Queensland floods class action.

Insurer Allianz has won its challenge to a decision forcing it to indemnify a north Queensland body corporate for cyclone damage despite non-disclosure of serious building defects, with the High Court finding insurers have no general duty to be “decent and fair”.